CNN has parted ways with its chairman and CEO Chris Licht, parent company Warner Bros Discovery announced on Wednesday.
Licht’s one-year tenure as head of the company was plagued by a series of missteps, including layoffs, shrinking profits, historically low ratings, the firing of two anchors, and rock-bottom employee morale, CNN reported.
According to Nielsen, CNN's ratings for May were down 25% compared with the year-ago period, while MSNBC saw its ratings increase 14% during the same time.
Before taking the role with CNN, Licht served as executive producer of the successful “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”.
Licht will be replaced by an interim leadership team comprising Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial, and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of US programming, the company said.
David Leavy, CNN’s chief operating officer on the commercial side, will also provide interim leadership.
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